Sawdust-drier.



No. 842,916. PATENTED FEB. 5-, 19073 c. E. SMITH.

SAWDUST DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1a, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

D I E PATENTBD FEB. 5, 1907.

C. E. SMITH. SAWDUST DRIER.

APPLICATION PILEDJUNE 1a. 19 0e.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MN 1 A .PATBNTED FEB. 5, 1907. c. E. SMITH.

SAWDUST DRIER.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 18, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ence bein PATENT oFFioE.

CHARLES E. SMITH, or MARSHFI-ELD, WISCONSIN.

'SAWDUST -DRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 1 907.

Application'iiled June 18. 1966. Serial No. 322.148.

To all whom it may concern: Be it know n-thatl CnAnLnsE..SMi'rH, re-

- siding in Marshfield, in the county of Wood and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sawdust-Briers, of which the following is a description, referhad to the accompanying drawings, whic 1 are a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an apparatus for drying sawdust as it is received from a'lumber-mill to a condition in which it will freely burn and may be used as fuel in furnaces and the like.

Fresh sawdustdirect from a lumber-mill usually contains so much moisture asto be quite unfit for use as a fueL-but if subjected to a drying process it may be used immediately in the boiler-furnaces of the lumbermill, thuseconomizingin the cost of running the plant and dispensing with the necessity for storing the sawdust or carting it away.

Thesawdust-drier of this invention comprises a series of hollow troughs arranged one above the other and heated by having steam passed through the walls thereof, the sawdust being made to travel slowly through the troughs by-means of a slatted conveyer-belt and discharged from one trough to the next by drop ing through openings therein until it is fina ly discharged through valved openings in the lasttrough to the furnace or other means fqrreceiving it.

-With the'ali'ove and-otherobjectsin Y W the invention further consists in the sawdustdrier, its parts andcombin'ations of partsas herein claimed, and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in-the several views, Figure 1 is a'front elevation ofasawdust-drier constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 3 .is a sectional front elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a sectional lan view taken on the lane of Far view talten on the plane of line 5 5 of Fig. 3, the conveyer being removed. Fig. 6 is a similar view on the plane of line 66 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7

is a transverse sectional view of one of thetroughs, taken onthe plane of'line7 7 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a similar view taken on the plane of line 8 8 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a-similarview taken on the plane of line 9 9 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 10 is a side elevation, partly in section, ofone of the discharge-spouts. 5 5

' In the drawings, 15 represents a furnace to which it is desired to feed dry sawdust as a fuel, this furnace as here shown being of the Dutch-oven type, but which may be of any ordinary construction. The drier is located above this furnace and is adapted to discharge .the dry sawdust through openings in the top thereof.

A series of troughs 16, U-shaped in crosssection, are arranged one above another and are connected to each otherbypipe-sections 17 along their sides, the lowermost trough being mounted on supports 18 on the furnace-wall. The troughs 16 are hollow and preferably of cast-metal construction, and the pipe-sections17 connect the interior of one trough with the interior of the next trough, so as to form a continuous conductor for the passage of steam. The steam enters the upper trough through and circulates through all gfthe troughsyand as tlrey'are slightly'inclind the water of condensation of each trough will run therefrom and through the pi e-sections 17 to a valved drain-pipe in the ower end of the bottom trough, where it may be drawn off. Bracket-bearin s 21 project from the ends of the troughs'an have sprocket-wheels 22 'ournaled in themfor guiding a conveyerelt 23 through the several troughs successively. The conveyer-belt comprises a pair of sprocket-chains connected at intervals by slats 24, which scrape along the bottoms of the troughs and serve to carry .the sawdust along with them through the troughs. One of the sprocket-wheels 22 is mounted on a lever 25,which ispivotally supported in a bin 26, and is connected witha weight 27 by 'a rope or chain passing over a pulley '28, so

thatthis sprocket wheel is given a tendency 5 to move in a direction to keep the conve erbelt tight. The course of the conveyerelt is indicated by arrows at .the several sprocketwheelsand passes from right to left throu h one trough an d from left to ri ht through t e roe succeeding trough, the end 0 the trough at which the belt enters being rounded to pregent its catching against the slats of the elt.

The series of trou hs is inclosed in a sheet- :0

metal casing 29, w ich is formed with'rea steam-pipelE) 75 movable sections at the sides and has hinged doors and' 31 at its respective ends, by means of which the parts may be accessible for cleaning or repairing.

An arm extension 32 of one of the bracketbearings 21 projects through the casin and forms a bearing for a'shaft carr ing a rivepulley 33, which is driven by a iielt 34, from any suitable source of power, this shaft being connected b gears 35 with the shaft of one set of sproc e't-wheels 22. In this manner the conveyer-belt is given motion.

' At the top of the'casing is provided a hopper 36 to receivethe freshsawdust as it is removed from thelumber-mill, preferably in a continuous supply. The sawdust is deposited in the uppermost trough near one end thereof and is carried along the. trough by means of the slats on the moving conveyor- 20 belt until it reaches a grated opening 37 near the; other end of the trough, through which a part ofthe sawdust drops into the trou h beneath, the remainder passing on in the first trough to another opening 38 in thebottom thereof, which does not extend entirely across the trough, leaving ,a ledge at each side to prevent the conveyer-belt sagging or engaging with the wall of the opemng. Through this opening more of the sawdust drops into the trough beneath, but these two openings are provided with slide-valves 39, operated by levers 40 to control the amount of sawdust which is allowed to drop through the o enings 37 and 38, the surplus'being' 5 carrie on y thefconveyer-bflt through an openin in the end of the casing and along'a pro'ecting shelf 41 to the bin 26, into which it rope to be stored until required. The sawdust which drops through the openings .4o 37 and 38 of the first trou h into one end of the second trou h is carrie along by the conveyer-belt movlng in the opposite direction to what it did before until it reaches similar 0 enings 37 and 38 rcilgar the other end 5 t ereof. The sawdust op s throu openmgsm the nexttnfig'm this operjli6n is repeated until the last trough is reached, where the openings 37 and 38 are more centrally located and are connected 5: with discharge-spouts 42, leading to the furnace. The openings of the last trough are controlled by slide-valves 43, operated by l'evers 44, to determine the feed of sawdust to the furnace. The sawdust which is not 5 5 discharged through the openings 37 and 38 of the last trough is carried on through-said trough and discharged at the end thereof into a hopper 45 at the'end of-the furnace, where it may be fed by hand through the furnace-door when desired. Such sawdust as may' be carried beyond the openings in any of the .other troughs is similarly discharged into said hopper at one end or. into der1t'su1ta e for use as fuel.

formed b making the lower troughs slightly shorter t an the upper two, primarily for accommodating the sprocket-wheels at that end within the casing. Sawdust which may be deposited at the upper end of the casing cannot accumulate to'anyeat extent, as the slats of the conve er-beili will engage it and carry it along the ower trough to e discharged with the other sawdust. Along the upper edge of the lower trough the side walls of the casing are provided with inclined defiecting plates 46, as shown in Fi 9, which prevent sawdust passingaround 31.5 rough.

Inorder that there may be no communication between the furnace and thesawdustdrier when the latter is not in operation, the

discharge-spouts 42 are provided with weighted valves 47, which remain closed, as shown in Fig. 10, except when sawdust is delivered thereto, the weight of the sawdust serving to open the valves during the operation of the sawdust-drier. By this means the danger of fire communication between the furnace and the sawdust-drier is avoided.

by the conveyer-belt and discharged into the next trough through the openings 37 and 38, according to the condition of the valves 39, the surplus passing out into the stora e-bin 26. The sawdust is conve ed throug the several troughs successive y in the same manner, being heated throughout its course;

by the walls of the troughs, which are kept hot bythe steam passing through their interior, and finally when the sawdust is discharged through the-spouts 42 into the furnaceit is'dried to such an a The moist air is promptly removed from the drying-cham ber' by means of the ventilating-pipes 48, and the heating-troughs are so surrounded by the casing as to avoid-the waste of heat.

The casing being formed in removable sections enables all parts to be readily accessible for cleaning and repairing purposes.

The object in providing eachtrough with a pair of openings, the first being grated, is to increase the area of the space through which the sawdust falls and thereby increase the drying effect produced by thehot air passing upwardly through the same openings. The sawdust which travels over the grated opening without passing therethrough is discharged through the next opening, and thus the discharge is divided between the two openings. This effect may be carried out to an end chamber at the other. end, which is a greater extent, if found desirable While the invention is admirably suited for the purpose of drying sawdust, it is obvious that it may be used for various other pur poses, and it is to be understood that it is not to be limited to any particular use.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A drier, comprising a series of hollow troughs one above another and arranged at an incline with openings throughfwhich one may discharge into another, a conveyer passing through the troughs,and means for supplying steam to the interior of the troughs and for draining the water of condensation from the lower ends of the troughs.

2. A drier, comprising a series of hollow troughs arranged one above another and at an incline with openings through which one may discharge into another, a conveyer passing through the troughs, pipe-sections conmeeting the troughstogcther and est ablis-hing communication between the interior of the troughs, means for admitting steam to the interior of the troughs, and means at the lower end of the bottom trough for discharging water of condensation from the interior of the trou hs.

3. A drier, comprising a series of troughs arranged one above another and provided with openings through which one trough may discharge into another, a conveyer passing through the troughs, the first opening of each .trough passed by the conveyer being grated to allow of a partial discharge only and the next opening serving to complete the discharge, and means for heating the troughs.

4. A drier, comprisin a series of troughs arranged one aboveanot er and having openings through which one maydischarge into another, a conveyer passing through the troughs, means for heating the trou hs, and a casing surrounding the troughs an the conveyer formed of removable sections permitting access to the several parts separately.

5. A drier, comprising a series of troughs arranged one above another and provided with openings through which one may discharge into another, a convever-belt' passing through the trou hs, valves for the openings of the first trough to control the passage of materialtherethrough, a bin, a projecting shelf leading from the first trough to the bin,

said conveyer passing along the shelf and into the bin, and means for heating the troughs.

6. A drier, comprising a series of troughs arranged one above another and provided with openings through which one may discharge into another, a conveyer-bclt passing through the troughs, valves for the openings of the first trough to control the passage of material therethrough, a bin, a projecting shelf leading from the first trough to the bin,

weight connected therewith, a wheel carried by the lever around which the conveyer-belt passes, and means for heating the troughs.

7. A drier, comprising a series of trou hs arranged one above another and provi ed with openings through which one may discharge into-another, a conveyer-belt passing through'the troughs; discharge-spouts leadin from the op enin s of the last trough,

va ves in said spouts y means of which the discharge of material may be controlled, a hopper at the end of the last trough into which the surplus material is discharged, and means for heating the troughs.

8. A drier, comprising a series of troughs arranged one above another and provided with openings through which one may discharge into another, a conveyer-belt passing through the troughs, means for heating the troughs, a casing surrounding the troughs, and deflecting-plates on the casing leading to the bottom trough.

9. A drier, comprising a series of hollow cast-metal troughs arranged. at an incline one above another and provided with openings through which one may discharge into another, pipeesections connecting the trou hs together and forming a communication etween the interior of the troughs, means for admitting steam to the interior of the troughs, means for dischargin water of condensation from the troughs, caring-bracktrough, a shelf projecting from the top trough to tnc bin to convey surplus material from the top trough to the bin, dischargespouts leading from the openings of the bottom trough, weighted valves therein for controlling the passage through the spouts, slide.- valves in the spouts, and a hopper at the end ,ets onthe ends of the troughs, sprocket-'v of the bottom trough to receive the surplus material after passing the spouts.-

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. SMITH.

Witnesses:

LoUis A; PETERSEN, Mrs. C. L. PETERSEN. 

